This film is currently unavailable
Cape Fear
Scorsese’s remake of J Lee Thompson’s 1962 thriller stars Robert De Niro as a psychotic rapist out to avenge the lawyer he blames for his conviction (Nick Nolte).
Director: Martin Scorsese
Overview
Scorsese’s remake of J Lee Thompson’s thriller – about a rapist released from prison and determined to take revenge on the family of the lawyer (Nick Nolte) he holds responsible for his conviction – heightens both the sadistic monstrosity of Max Cady (De Niro) and the various failings of his intended victims.
Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck and Martin Balsam, from the 1962 original, have fun cameos, but it’s Juliette Lewis who steals the show, with a performance of thumb-sucking notoriety. While Scorsese retains Bernard Herrmann’s thunderous score, he presents clever twists on the story such as making Nolte’s character a liberal defence lawyer, targeted by Cady for perceived lack of effort, rather than the prosecutor of the original film. Scorsese may enjoy toying with the presumptions of both liberal and conservative notions of justice, but the director here is really in freewheeling mode, revelling in the story’s visceral thrills and the heightened mania of De Niro’s central performance.
Related
Law and Disorder Law and Disorder
Legal and Courtroom drama 1940 74 mins Director: David MacDonald
Alastair Sim is in splendid form as a staid, slightly seedy solicitor in this cheerfully patriotic war-time espionage comedy.
45 Years 45 Years
Drama 2015 95 mins Director: Andrew Haigh
One of the most acclaimed British features of recent years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a couple rocked by news from the past.
52 Tuesdays 52 Tuesdays
Drama 2013 110 mins Director: Sophie Hyde
A mother undergoing a gender transition meets his estranged daughter every Tuesday, changing gradually each time they meet. An intelligent indie hit about modern identity.
99 Homes 99 Homes
Drama 2014 112 mins Director: Ramin Bahrani
With precision and pertinence, Ramin Bahrani’s drama reveals the human cost of the 21st-century economic crisis.
Akenfield Akenfield
Drama 1975 98 mins Director: Peter Hall
Peter Hall’s extraordinary, long-unseen work of sublime poetic realism traces three generations of one Suffolk family and their lives in the farming industry.
All Quiet on the Western Front All Quiet on the Western Front
War 1930 133 mins Director: Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone's pioneering, Oscar®-winning film is one of the most powerful films about the consequences of war
American Gangster American Gangster
Crime 2007 157 mins Director: Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott’s heavyweight crime drama follows the rise and fall of drug-runner Frank Lucas, commandingly portrayed by Denzel Washington.
Mean Streets Mean Streets
Crime 1973 112 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel excel in Scorsese’s seminal tale of the conflict between Catholicism and crime in New York’s Little Italy.
GoodFellas GoodFellas
Gangster 1990 145 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Scorsese’s dazzling depiction of organised crime from the 50s to late 70s contains some of his most memorably stylish set-pieces.
Mean Streets Mean Streets
Crime 1973 112 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel excel in Scorsese’s seminal tale of the conflict between Catholicism and crime in New York’s Little Italy.
GoodFellas GoodFellas
Gangster 1990 145 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Scorsese’s dazzling depiction of organised crime from the 50s to late 70s contains some of his most memorably stylish set-pieces.
Who's That Knocking at My Door Who's That Knocking at My Door
Drama 1968 86 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s powerful and grittily authentic first feature, starring Harvey Keitel as a young New Yorker who falls in love with a free-spirited college graduate (Zeth Bithune).
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Drama 1974 107 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed fourth feature famously won Ellen Burstyn an Academy Award for Best Actress.
After Hours After Hours
Comedy 1985 97 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
One of Scorsese's underseen gems, a word processor has a wild night after agreeing to meet a girl at a coffee shop.
Silence Silence
Drama 2017 161 mins Director: Martin Scorsese
Scorsese’s epic meditation on spiritual strength, with Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as missionaries on the search for their missing mentor.
Four Daughters Four Daughters
Drama-documentary 2023 103 mins Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
The mother-daughter relationship is explored to cathartic effect in this complex and poignant hybrid documentary about a woman and her missing daughters.
Her Last Affaire Her Last Affaire
Drama 1936 68 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's 'society drama’ involving suspicion, clandestine romance and presumed murder, and glorious comic double-act from Googie Withers and John Lurie.
She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Colbert
In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.
Rynox Rynox
Crime 1932 46 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s earliest existing film is a twisty thriller crafted with a bold visual style that is unmistakeably influenced by Fritz Lang.
Hotel Splendide Hotel Splendide
Comedy 1932 53 mins Director: Michael Powell
Music hall veteran Jerry Verno stars as a lowly clerk who gets more than he bargained for when he inherits a hotel, in Michael Powell's charming comedy.
The Night of the Party The Night of the Party
Crime 1934 61 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell’s fun stage adaptation about a murder at a society party, with characterful performances from its fine ensemble cast.